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ID&R Center

Before migrant children can be served by the Migrant Education Program (MEP), they need to be determined eligible to receive program services. Identification and Recruitment (ID&R) is the first step in the effort to locate and serve the children of migrant farm workers. Knowledge and implementation of solid ID&R strategies assists states in locating migrant families in order to properly serve them. Without ID&R, serving migrant families and their children would not be possible.
ID&R is critical because, often, the most mobile children are the hardest to find, the most in need, and the most forgotten. Recruiting all migrant children is a federal mandate. More importantly, the timely and effective identification of migrant children is the first step in ensuring that the services will go to those who need them most.
Technical assistance to train migrant education recruiters addresses several factors. Recruiters and migrant administrators need to be cognizant of the MEP program guidelines and regulations, as well as any current guidance by the Office of Migrant Education. The most effective and appropriate strategies to make proper eligibility determinations needs to be shared with migrant staff, taking into consideration the realities of the local programs. Additional training topics include:

Certificate of Eligibility (COE) documentation and completion;

Strengthening interview techniques;

Networking with other agencies;

Finding migrant children using district and/or community-based efforts;

Ensuring personal safety of recruiters; and

Developing quality control assurances.

The ID&R Center at ESCORT has provided technical assistance and support to state and local migrant education programs in multiple ways. Staff from the ID&R Center have also been involved in the discussion of eligibility issues at the federal level.
The Center can help your state or local program with the following:

PLANNING:

Are we implementing the most effective ID&R Plan specifically for my state or local program?

What should we include in our state ID&R Plan?

What should we include in our local ID&R Plan?

How can my student data help improve on current recruitment strategies?

What other resources help plan effective ID&R efforts?

IMPLEMENTING:

Does my state COE meet the requirements of the National COE?

How can I improve on consistency regarding ID&R policies in my state?

How can recruiters in my state learn about effective recruitment strategies?

Are we effectively recruiting Out-of-School Youth?

How can I help recruiters find all eligible migrant children and youth?

EVALUATING:

How can I effectively monitor recruitment efforts?

How can I best evaluate recruitment efforts in my state?

How can I improve on my recruiters' skills?

What is an efficient training plan for recruiters in my state or local program?

What are effective quality control procedures in ID&R?

Call the ID&R Center at 1-866-963-6677 to make ID&R work best for you!